Vincent Amen, one of Jackson's ex associates and an unindicted co-conspirator, may give testimony in the Jackson trial; if the defence can persuade the prosecution to allow his limited immunity to continue.

Amen actually gave the prosecution team an interview last December. In exchange, he received limited immunity.

However, his interview with them was not what they wanted to hear; therefore they did not call him to the stand.

Now that the defence are seeking his appearance, the prosecution are arguing that the immunity is no longer on the table.

However, as with many of the witnesses, it may be that his testimony surprises both defence and prosecution.

The defence case in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial could be ending sooner than anyone expected, that is according to Jackson's defence team.

Jackson's spokeswoman, Raymone Bail, had originally said that they expected the defence phase of the trial would take about six weeks.

However, Tom Mesereau has reportedly told Judge Rodney Melville that this was an "overstatement".

Quote:

"I think a number of weeks is an overstatement of the amount of time we'll need here."

Jackson's team though are denying speculation that the defence will rest next week.

Given the total "balls up" that the prosecution have made in this case, re the remarkably dishonest set of witnesses that they produced, one can understand the defence not wishing/needing to make this a protracted spectacle.

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

He stated that he saw Gavin and Star Arvizo fondle themselves in a guest cottage at Neverland.

Rijo Jackson said that he stayed with the brothers one night in 2003 when they turned a television to a station showing naked women, began masturbating and suggested that he do the same.

Rijo didn't join in, and said that he went to Michael Jackson's bedroom to sleep after the incident.

Rijo also testified that he once saw the Arvizo boys take wine that had been delivered to Jackson's master bedroom.

He said the wine was delivered to the downstairs area of the room and they offered to take it upstairs.

Rijo said that Michael Jackson was in a bathroom when chef's assistant Angel Vivanco brought in the wine, with the cork still in the bottle. He said the brothers took the wine upstairs and that when he next saw the bottle the cork was removed and some of the wine was gone.

Rijo also testified that he saw the brothers steal items from drawers, including money belonging to a chef. He also said he saw them run out of ranch manager Jesus Salas' office with money he believed they had taken.

Irene Peters, a social worker from the LA County Department of Children and Family Services, gave testimony at the Michael Jackson trial yesterday.

She said that she had met privately with Gavin Arvizo and his family, during the time they claim they were held prisoner by Jackson, and they praised Jackson and denied any sexual abuse.

Peters said that she had met Janet Arvizo, and her three children in February 2003, after the Martin Bashir documentary was shown on TV.

Quote:

"I asked him if he had ever been sexually abused by Michael Jackson and he became upset. He said, 'Everybody thinks Michael Jackson sexually abused me. He never touched me'..."

Adding that Gavin told her Jackson "was very kind to him and treated him like a father."

Peters also said that she separately interviewed Janet Arvizo, Gavin's brother Star and his older sister, and all of them praised Jackson. She said Mrs Arvizo even gave Jackson credit for her son's victory over cancer.

It seems that Janet Arvizo initially asked if the social worker could do her interview at Jackson's estate.

So much for being held captive!

Peters said:

"She denied all allegations of general neglect...I asked her about the relationship with Michael Jackson. She went on to say he was like a father to her children and she felt he was responsible for helping (Gavin) to survive his cancer, for his cancer to go into remission. I asked her if the kids ever slept in Michael Jackson's room and she said no, that never happened."

Peters said that the Arvizo family never mentioned being held against their will.

US television host Larry King is to take the witness stand at Michael Jackson's child molestation trial on Thursday.

King will be asked by the defence about a claim that a lawyer, who once represented Gavin Arvizo and Janet Arvizo, told him he didn't believe their claims against Jackson.

The defence has claimed in a memo to the court that publisher Michael Viner heard attorney Larry Feldman make the comments about Gavin and Janet Arvizo during a 2004 breakfast meeting with King at a Los Angeles cafe.

Feldman has denied ever making the comments, and said he had never met Viner who claims he sat with King and Feldman at the breakfast meeting.

Michael Jackson's former attorney, Mark Geragos, testified last week in the trial.

He stated that Jackson had told him that Gavin Arvizo had slept in his bed, but that nothing sexual had happened.

Geragos testified that he investigated the Arvizos, and became very concerned about them.

He said that he had asked Jackson if Gavin had slept in his bed.

Quote:

"Yes. He said nothing happened...He said he didn't do anything untoward or sexual and if anyone spent the night in his room, it was unconditional love."

Geragos gave a very strong message of support for Jackson:

"When I was there, what I saw was a gentleman who was almost childlike in his love for kids. I didn't see anyone doing anything nefarious or criminal. I saw someone who was ripe as a target,".

Geragos said he was concerned about allegations arising from the Bashir documentary, and was particularly concerned that Gavin and his family might take advantage of them.

He said that he did database searches to see if the family had a "litigious history", and was very worried to find they had previously sued J.C. Penney over allegations that they were beaten by security guards.

The family received a $150K settlement in that lawsuit.

Geragos said that he hired a private investigator, Bradley Miller, to investigate the family; the results led him to believe the Arvizo family was bad news.

Quote:

"Michael should have nothing to do with them...It was a pending disaster."

Witnesses in the Michael Jackson trial are painting a picture of the Arvizo family as being a bunch of rude, demanding bastards.

The witnesses certainly didn't feel that the Arvizos looked like they were being held hostage.

Seemingly "f--king Cheetos" were one of the Arvizo's more pressing concerns, during their sojourn at Neverland.

The witnesses included an ex-spa owner, a local dentist and a former Neverland kitchen worker.

Carole McCoy, the spa owner, said that Janet Arvizo didn't appear to be a kidnap victim the day she visited her salon for brow wax, lip wax, face wax, leg wax and bikini wax. The costs of this overhaul to the Arvizo body came it at $140.

Needless to say the account differs with that provided by Janet Arvizo, who claimed that she only had a leg wax.

Additionally Janet had said that a camera crew had trailed her to the appointment; McCoy said that she saw no cameras.

Neither, oddly enough, did Janet say that she was being held prisoner during her waxing.

Security guard Shane Meredith testified that he caught Gavin Arvizo and his younger brother with a half-empty bottle of wine. Maid Maria Gomez said she found porn mags in a backpack that she believed belonged to Gavin's brother.

"He told me if I didn't do it [pour alcohol into a milkshake], he would tell Michael and I would get fired,".

Vivanco then went on to say that Gavin's sister called her mother a "psycho mom," spoke ill of her brothers and hinted that her mother and future stepfather were planning "something big" with regard to Jackson.

Dr. Jean Seamount testified about tending to the braces of Gavin and his brother on Feb. 24, 2003, again when these two were meant to be being held captive.

The doctor noted that, despite the fact that everyone hates going to the dentist, no-one tried to do a runner during the appointment.

Seamount did encounter problems with Janet Arvizo:

"[The mother] was angry at another orthodontist who had placed the braces, and she wanted the braces removed so she could send [them] back in the mail to the orthodontist,".

Seamount described Gavin as being "undisciplined." Seamount's assistant, Tiffany Haynes, called him "rude."

Again, there was no sighting of the alleged film crew trailing the Arvizo clan around.

It seems to me that the jury can conclude from this that the story about the Arvizos being held captive is, to use an olde English phrase, "utter bollocks".